What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep? Describe what that was like.
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Movie Wednesday: Ice Girls
by Amy Frantz, Brave Writer alum
After sustaining a serious knee injury during a figure skating competition, fifteen-year-old Mattie Dane isn’t sure she can continue skating, especially after her mother loses her job and the family has to relocate away from Mattie’s training rink. In her new town, Mattie finds a new friend, another figure skater named Heather, as well as a new rink and a new coach who helps her to regain her confidence. But when Mattie decides to skate again, it drives a wedge between her and Heather, and their friendship turns to on ice rivalry. With sectionals looming, Mattie must learn to persevere as a competitor and repair her friendship with Heather as the two prepare to skate against each other.
[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]
Ice Girls is a 2016 sports movie and a heartwarming family film. Its themes include learning the value of perseverance, family bonds, and the importance of friendship.
Not everything has to be high tragedy and drama or an adaptation of classic literature in order to have value. “Feel good” movies are also an important part of building family culture and a language rich environment. It’s alright to snuggle up with some popcorn and brownies and just watch a fun, uplifting film simply ’cause it feels nice. And often times, profound and moving themes can be found in movies thought to be “light” entertainment, and Ice Girls is just such a one.
So, maybe it’s time to snuggle up on the comfy couch with some snacks and watch some figure skating with Ice Girls! It’s also timely since the Grand Prix Series, a key part of the figure skating season, is getting ready to start.
Discussion Questions
- Sportsmanship is the practice of being fair and kind towards one’s competitors in a sport. At which points in the film do you think Mattie and Heather demonstrate good sportsmanship and at which points do they show poor sportsmanship? Explain your answers.
- Heather’s mother is shown throughout the film to be controlling, domineering, and belittling towards her daughter. Do you think this is the cause of some of Heather’s bad behavior in the film? Explain why or not.
- Well-written characters have flaws and demonstrate growth over the course of a story. For example, Mattie is shown sometimes giving up too soon and turning that into bitterness. She shows growth by learning to overcome those flaws with perseverance and kindness. Which other characters have flaws and show growth in the story? Explain your answer.
- The film ends with Mattie winning sectionals so that she can go on to nationals, but the film doesn’t cover whether or not Mattie actually succeeds at becoming a champion. So, what do you think happens after the credits?
Additional Resources
Olympian Jason Brown Breaks Down Figure Skating’s Six Jumps – Wall Street Journal YouTube video
International Skating Union – The first 100 years – Part 1/3 – ISU Archives – Skating ISU YouTube video
Regular People Try Olympic Figure Skating (With Kristi Yamaguchi) – BuzzFeedBlue YouTube video
Amy Frantz is a Brave Writer alum. When not over-analyzing Star Wars, in her spare time you will find her yelling about figure skating.
Happy Birthday, Kwame Alexander!
“I’ve missed 100% of the shots I’ve never taken.” ~Kwame Alexander
In celebration of Kwame Alexander’s birthday on August 21, the Boomerang based on his book, The Crossover, is:
HALF PRICE till Thursday, Aug 23 midnight ET ($5.95)!
[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]
Born August 21, 1968 Kwame Alexander is a best-selling writer of children’s fiction and poetry. He won 2015 Newbery Medal for his 2014 novel The Crossover.
“With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering,” announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he’s got mad beats, too, that tell his family’s story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander. —Amazon
Learn more about Kwame on his official website.
You can also listen to our podcast interview with him here.
Learn language arts with the Crossover Boomerang!
The Boomerang is a digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is geared toward 7th to 10th graders (ages 12—advanced, 13-15) and is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.
So, celebrate Kwame Alexander’s birthday and take advantage of this special offer today!
Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: The Crossover
Brave Writer Podcast: Break the Cycle of Homeschool Despair
Imagine this scene: your child is reading a book, and they’ve been reading for a few months now. Yet suddenly you think, “What if I had taught them to read this other way? What if I had used this other philosophy from the beginning? What if my child were in school?”
When the “what if’s” show up, they can trigger worry, envy, and despair – and they can show up everywhere – but that isn’t serving you or your children!
Let’s take a couple deep breaths and focus on what you are doing well already while we tame the “what if” monster.
Listen to the Podcast:
What if… there’s a magic puzzle piece missing from my homeschool?
One of the biggest catalysts for ‘what ifs’ is what we like to call It Must Be Me Despair Syndrome.
When a lot of us run into a challenge in our homeschool, maybe we just started a new program or picked up a new schooling style, we end up thinking the problem must be us. It seemed perfect online, but now it’s not perfect in our homes.
So, of course, there must be another piece out there, another style of teaching, and we’re just missing it… which then kick starts this cycle all over again.
Tips to help you break the Despair Cycle:
- Expect new things to come with unforeseen challenges, and that’s okay. Instead of treating yourself like the problem and falling into despair, treat the problem like the problem!
- Remember that you do have limits in your capacity to carry out anything you ever try. You’re never going to get the house clean enough, you’re never going to use the math book thoroughly enough, you’re never going to understand grammar well enough, and you’re never going to do science to a high enough degree of accuracy. Just admit it, it’s liberating!
- Stick with it! Something we believe in here at Brave Writer is The One Thing Principle. It’s pretty simple: don’t try to start spinning three new plates at once! Just start one thing, get it spinning, and then bring in the next one. Give yourself a time frame, be it six weeks or six months, and keep checking in on how you and your children like it. Consider ways you can tweak it and make it better, and don’t abandon ship at the first sign of a storm.
Would you please post a review on Apple Podcasts for us?
Help a homeschooler like you find more joy in the journey. Thanks!
Friday Freewrite: Raindrop
Write from the point of view of a raindrop as it slides down a pane of glass.
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
